Edwards: The girl is mine

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- Former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards has finally come forward to admit that he is the father of a child born to a videographer he hired before his second White House bid. "It was wrong for me to ever deny she was my daughter," he said Thursday.

Edwards released a statement to The Associated Press after long denying that he'd fathered a child during an affair with Rielle Hunter. The admission comes shortly before a book on the scandal is due out from a former campaign aide who was expected to describe how Edwards worked to hide his paternity.

"I am Quinn's father," the former senator declared in his statement, as the second birthday of Frances Quinn Hunter approaches.

A lawyer for Hunter did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It is not clear where she is living.

Frances was born Feb. 27, 2008, indicating that the child was conceived in the middle of 2007, several months after Hunter stopped working for Edwards. John and Elizabeth Edwards renewed their wedding vows in July of 2007 to celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary.

A former Edwards aide, Andrew Young, initially claimed paternity of the child shortly before the 2008 presidential primary contests began. Young is scheduled to release a book on Feb. 2 that details the scandal.